Sunday, September 10, 2006

I'm still here...

Turns out that the last couple of weeks have been busy - starting a job again, having my sister's family come and stay with us for a few days, Brendan being knee-deep in dissertation and starting his post-doc... things are going well though - no complaints. We'll both be happy once this "Big D" is done, no doubt.

So ok, even though I've been busy, I have been knitting... and, to some extent, trying to stay up to date on y'alls bloglife... just not updating my own. Here are 2 recent FOs:

I LOVED knitting this pattern and creating these slippers. The construction of the clog was fascinating to me and it was a really easy-to-follow pattern. I have desperately wanted to make these for about 5 years or so and just hadn't gotten around to it. I intended to make this first pair for me, but I think they are a tad small and may go to my mum under the Christmas tree since her feet are a tad smaller than mine. I do plan on making more for all my loved ones, so let's hope that they're as enchanted with these as I am. Since I started on a women's size 10 pair, I can't wait to work on more delicate sizes for my small-footed friends, niece, and nephews. :-) (And yes, the size 10 is too small for me...)

Now, is it just me, or do these two clogs look slightly different from one another?? I mean, I guess it is possible that I could have messed one up while knitting it if I wasn't paying attention... but could it be uneven felting? They seemed to be felting unevenly during the process even though they were both in the same zippered mesh bag in the washing machine.

I whipped up one of these hats in a 18-30 month size for my friend's boy, Kian. Then, I made a newborn 0-6 month size (shown here) because I know that I'll need (another) one eventually. This pattern was intended for Cotton Comfort by Green Mountain Spinnery (80% organic cotton, 20% wool), but a recent new yarn store adventure uncovered an owner unwilling to carry anything organic because of some weevil or other.... anyway, he suggested the Cotton Fleece instead and I wasn't disappointed. Colour selection was good and the feel of the yarn is softer than the Cotton Comfort. Incidentally, speaking of YS owner's opinions - he was not a fan of the Cascade 220 or, at least, didn't prefer it because he stated that it was skimpy compared to other worsted weight yarns. I had only heard great things about Cascade 220, specifically related to felting, and from someone with tonnes of experience. Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I quite liked the yarn and would work with it again, but may check out another worsted at some point, strictly out of curiosity and dedication to the scientific method.

By the way, the baby shower went well and the blanket was duly appreciated by the mom-to-be. Of course, the baby hat (similar to the one shown above) got almost the same number of "oohs" and "aaahs" but why think about *that*?

Awesome:-) I really want to try clogs someday too, your's turned out great. Are you going to put leather bottoms on them or are they set as is? The hat is adorable too, the pattern is sweet. when do we get news on the job?? Good luck on living through the 'big D';-)

That last satement about that hat and the blanket getting the same number of ooohs and aaahs is the #1 reason that I usually knit hats as baby shower gifts, instead of blankets or even sweaters. Everthing looks great, and I'm glad to hear you're feeling more settled in there.